Saturday, March 27, 2010

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday extended his warm greetings to the people of the State on the sacred occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.

In a message the Chief Minister called upon the different sections of the society to follow the philosophy and teachings of Lord Mahavir, who preached the principles of simple living and high thinking to achieve the ultimate goal of salvation. Badal said that the message of Lord Mahavir for universal brotherhood, communal harmony and peace was even far more relevant in the present materialistic society.

The Chief Minister appealed the people to follow the path shown by Lord Mahavir and celebrate this auspicious occasion in unison and with religious fervour to further strengthen the secular and social fabric of our society.

President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her message on the juncture of Mahavir Jayanti, which is being celebrated tomorrow has said, “On the auspicious occasion of Mahavir Jayanti, I convey my heartiest greetings and best wishes to all the people. "

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has greeted the nation on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti, which will be will be celebrated in the country on Sunday.

In his message, the Prime Minister said that Lord Mahavir’s life and teachings encourage us to be compassionate and straightforward. They show us the path to a life of cheerfulness and gratification.

May Lord Mahavir’s noble teachings inspire us to work for peace and harmony for the welfare of humanity”. “Lord Mahavir’s thoughtful message remains an inspiration of hope in today’s world.” he added.

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak is the most significant religious holiday of Jains. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara. He was born on the 13th day of the intensifying moon of Chaitra, in 599 BC.

Mahavira left the earth at the age of 71 on the day of Deepavali . But the lamp of peace which he lit continues to glow through the numerous lights of that Festival of Lights.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Bangalore (Karnataka), 15 March 2010: While th entire world will celebrateMahavira Jayanti (Janmakalyanak) on 28th March 2010 with all thegatherings, processions, meetings and functions, the Jains of Bangaloremight not be able to do that and might be restricted to having theircelebrations only with in the four walls of the temple or their houses. Thisis because of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) elections that isscheduled to be held on the same day. The election conducting body in Karnataka the Election Commision of Karnataka and the BBMP have not takenMahavir Jayanthi into consideration while declaring the dates for theelections. By this the Jains of Bangalore will be denied their right to voteunder Indian constitution as they will be involved in religiouscelebrations.

At the same time as it is an election day in Bangalore, people will not beallowed to make gatherings, hold meetings and take out processions as perthe election code of conduct. This is in denying the religious rights of theJains on the biggest festival of the community. Mahavir Jayanthi is adeclared holiday under the negotiable instruments act both by the Governmentof Karnataka and Government of India. As per the indian constitutionelections cannot be conducted on such days as it will lead to denying therights of the citizens.

Inspite of all the above facts the Election commission of Karnataka and theBBMP are moving ahead with conducting the elections. If it was a festivalday for any other community might be the authorities would have thoughttwice before announcing the dates of the election and in every possibilitythey would not have move ahead with conducting the election.
Since Jains are a micro minority and not a deciding factor in the electionprocess we have not been taken into consideration while deciding the datesof the elections. Adding to this as per the election proceedings thereshould be a gap of 10 days from the day of withdrawal of nominations and thedate of elections. However as per the announced schedule there only a gap of9 days between the two.

Taking the above points into consideration Jain Yuva Sangathan, All IndiaSwethambar Jain Samaj and other Jain organisations have filed a publicinterst litigation in the High Court of Karnataka and have the made theElection Commissioner of Karnataka and Commissioner, BBMP as therespondents. According to the petitioner, their community constitutes 10 percent of the population of Bengaluru and urged that no election should beconducted on general holidays.

During the Initial hearing a division bench headed by Justice V. GopalaGowda dismissed the PIL stating that election to the civic body has beenpending for almost four years and it is impossible to consider the plea whenthe SEC's calendar of events for the polls is in motion. However, the courtgave the Samaj the liberty to approach the SEC.

Another petition is pending for hearing and will come for hearing on 15thMarch 2010 at court hall no. 2 at the High Court of Karnataka. The Jainsamaj in hoping to get some positive results.

In the mean time it is the duty of every Jain to rise to the occasion and support the petitoners to fight the case. Please send in your replies andwords of support by replying at the following blog:
http://justiceforjains.blogspot.com http://justiceforja ins.blogspot. com/>or by mail to justiceforjains@ gmail.com.

Monday, March 8, 2010

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today stressed the relevance of Jain principles to tackle the problem of violence and terrorism afflicting the modern world.

Gandhi also underlined the importance of politics that believes in non-violence, environment-centric development and taking all sections together.

The Congress president said she belongs to a political tradition that believes in these values.

"World is facing problems of violence and terrorism... In such darkness, the light to save humanity is found in the philosophy of Jain religion," Gandhi said while addressing a silver jubilee programme of Jain organisation Kund Kund Bharti.

Eulogising the philosophy of Anekantwad (Recognition of the relativity of truth from the perspective of life in this world), Gandhi said," there could be many aspects of a problem and it can be seen from various angles."

The philosophy teaches one to respect others' beliefs, she said, adding it establishes democratic values.

The Congress president also handed over a cash award of Rs5 lakh and a citation given by the organisation to professor Natalia Zhelznova.

Zhelznova, a professor of Moscow University, translated various books on Jainism into Russian language.

Gandhi also inaugurated a library and a newly constructed building of the Jain organisation.

Chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, and minister of state for rural development Pradip Jain Aditya and Congressspokesperson Abhishek Singhvi also attended the programme.